Pressing On!

The hardest part of a race is not the beginning or even the end. It’s those meters or miles in the middle where you’ve either spent that initial burst of energy you had to begin the race or where you haven’t yet reached that point where you are motivated by the finish line just ahead. The middle part of the race is just plain drudgery. One simply presses on knowing that if they do they will soon be buoyed by sight of the end.

I’ve had to keep myself motivated during these “middle weeks” as we’ve worked on our new worship space at Promise Church. We began with a burst of energy – literally – as Dale Dodd and I met at our new space several weeks ago and began tearing out sheet rock so that we could build a new wall. There has been a lull these past two weeks as we’ve waited for skilled workers to install electrical outlets, rework the ceiling and lighting, reposition the A/C ducts and put the finishing touches on the new walls that will mark off our office space, kitchen, and worship space. Ask any nine year old. It’s just hard to wait for the finished product.

The author of Hebrews knew well the difficulty of those “middle miles.” The Christian walk, like any project, is fun and exciting in the beginning and then focused and meaningful as we approach the end. But it’s those middle years of life and ministry, where we need to be encouraged to “press on.”

Heb 12:1 Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles, and let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us. 2 Let us fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy set before him endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God. 3 Consider him who endured such opposition from sinful men, so that you will not grow weary and lose heart.

The cloud of witnesses, of course, refers to the great list in chapter 11 of Hebrews of the “pillars of the faith” like Abraham and Moses, Rahab and David and many others who like us believed in God and yet experienced days of longing and long-suffering looking forward to the time of the fulfillment of God’s promise. For many, that fulfillment didn’t come in their lifetime. Moses though he led the Israelites through forty years of wilderness wandering never himself saw the Promised Land. Abraham, though promised that his ancestors would number more than the stars in the sky, never himself saw the Great Kingdom of Israel in all of its glory under the reign of David. And David – who longed to build the temple of God – would have to see that project passed along and completed by his son, Solomon. God’s timing isn’t always our timing. And yet, the great people of God pressed on anyway.

Jesus (in the flesh) never saw the birth of the church. When he was crucified, his apostles – his closest friends and associates - scattered and even denied having known him. And yet, Jesus endured the cross knowing the future joy that awaited him when he “sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.”

There is joy even in those “middle miles” as we press on. Usually that is the time where God is preparing us for the finish. As Hebrews states, it is a time for laying aside the encumbrances and looking ahead. The wilderness wandering of the Israelites were a time of laying aside their spiritual dependence on something other than God and learning to depend on God alone. This is a season of growth, of being shaped, and of being prepared for the blessing. It can be a time also of learning to look to your Christian brothers and sisters for encouragement and help. Who knows? You may be the one giving the encouragement and help!

Don’t lose heart! If you feel like you are running the race and getting nowhere then have the confidence of knowing that God is using this time to prepare you for your blessing! There is work to be done in the meantime. People you know are looking to you to be an example of the “hope that is in you.” Whether you feel it or not, God is using you to bless the lives of others. Take heart, you are God’s chosen runner. The end of the race is nearer than we think and at the end is great celebration and rejoicing. In fact, the vision of that celebration can enliven us even today, as we quicken our step, share faith in boldness, and have the courage to minister in a world that desperately needs Jesus.

Let’s fix our eyes then on Jesus!